Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all… – Romans 4:16
There was in Abraham an eye to the central point of the promise—the Messiah—Jesus, our Lord.
I do not know that Abraham understood all the spiritual meaning of the Covenant made with him. Probably he did not. But he did understand that the Christ was to be born of him, in whom all nations should be blessed. When the Lord said that He would make him a blessing and in him should all nations of the earth be blessed, I do not suppose Abraham saw all the fullness of that marvelous word—but he did see that he was to be the progenitor of the Messiah. Our Lord, Himself, is my Authority for this assertion—“Abraham saw My day, he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Though there appeared to this man, old and withered, with a wife 90 years of age, no likelihood that he should ever become a father, yet did he fully believe that he would be the father of many nations—and that upon no basis whatever but that the living God had so promised him and, therefore, so it must be!
Brothers and Sisters, these were, in themselves, terrible difficulties—enough to make a man fear that the promise did but mock him—but Abraham did not consider anything beyond the promise and the God who gave it! The difficulties were for God to consider—not for him! He knew that God had made the world out of nothing and that He supported all things by the word of His power and, therefore, he felt that nothing was too hard for Him!..Yes, and as we search the Word by faith—we take each promise as we find it and we say, “this is true,” and, “this is true,” and so we rest upon all of them!